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Close Roll 19 Edward IV

ENROLMENT, in English, of the K.'s mandate concerning the execution of the offices of the C., clerk of the rolls, and clerk of the hanaper, viz.:

'Of the Demeanor of the great Officers.

Thes Articles folowying conteyne the Kyng s comaundements and plesere how his Chanselere of Ireland, Clerc of the Rolles, and the Clerc of the Hanaper ther shall demene theym there in executyng of ther offices.

Furste, they and everiche of thems shall well and trewly serve the Kyng and his liege peple of the same land in the doyng of ther offices.

Item, that they ne none of them shall assent to the hurt, damage, or alienacione of þe1 Kyngs lands, revenues or rights, but they shall endevoir themselfe for the vauncyng, and encresyng therof, and lette all theym to the best of their powere that wold attempt the contrary therof.

Item, that the sead Chaunselor do sete alweyes in suche place and tymes, as the Clerc of the Rolles, the Clerc of the Hanaper, and other ministers of þe Chaunsery may be ther and then present.

Item, that the said Chaunselor do delyvre to the Clerc of the Rolles all suche warrants cummyng to his handes, so as he may kepe theim as the K.’s recordes accordyng to his office.

Item, that the said Chaunseller sele no pardons under the K.’s grete sele unto any man upon his provisione from the Court of Rome, without the Kyng’s knowledge or consent.

Item, the Chaunseller in person shall in true [recte 'term'] tyme make his abidyng in the place wher the Kyng’s courts be kept, unless ether be a grete and urgent cause by the Depute, wyth the advice of the more part of þ Kyng’s Consele it be thought his absence to be allowed.

Of the Clerc of the Rolles.

Item, that the Clerc of the Rolles do enrol all patents under the Kyng’s gret seall befor that they be deliveret to the parties, and kepe so the Kyng’s recordes that none of them be rased or besoiled.

Item, that he see and write at every sele what profite growth on to the Kyng therof, and the specialtees of the same; so that his boke so made may be a controllement upon th’ accompts of þe Clerc of the Hanaper to be made yerly in the Kyng’s Eschequer there.

Item, that no lyvere be made to the Kyng’s tenant, ne yet restitucion to be made to any Bishop, Abbot or Prior, without that the Kyng be furst answered of his duete accordynge to the rate of þe tyme that the lands have ben in the Kynges handes.

Of the Clerc of the Hanapier.

Item, that the Clerc of the Hanapier continuelly receive the fees of the sele of writts, comisssions, and patents, and also all suche fynes as shall be made in the Chaunsery, and thereupon pay the Chaunsellor his fees, wages and rewardes accustomed, and deliver the remnant unto the Kyng’s Ex. upon his accomptes, which he shall make yerly therof. And to th’ entent that noone ignoreunce may be pretendit what fines ben to be made there within th’ Kyng’s Chaunsery, the specialties of them herafter.

Of fynes upon Writts to be paid in Chancery.

All writts of Covenant, every assise, and writts in nature of assise, and other writts of entry above the value of xl. shillings unto the value of five m―6s 8d.
Every special assize, be hit ever so litill, it maketh a fine, and streitly every five M―6s 8d.
Every Formedowne above forty shillings unto 8 m―6s 8d.
Every Pone of Justicies, pone of writts of right, every writt of conspirici, writts of atteynte, and writts of false judgement, the fine―6s 8d.
Every recordare of dette or trispasse, and every Dedimus potestatem upon writt of Covenant―6s 8d.
Every writt of dette or trispasse, exceeding the some, value, or prise of 40 unto the some of 60―6s 8d.
Also, an attachment of the privilege of dette or trispasse according to the same, and if it exceeds more to pay more―6s 8d.
All respite of homage―6s 8d. But more after þe quantiti of the livelod.
All Oyer and Determiner at the sute of the partie, if gretter trispasse the gretter fine.
All manner licence to purchase temporell livelod to Mortmayne the fine five yere value of the same.
All manner licence of spirituell livelod, as appropriacions of chirches, or of benefices spirituell of Holy Chirche four yere value of the same.
All manner licence of alienacione by the Kyng’s tenaunt the third part of the value thereof.
All pardons of alienaciones made by the Kyng’s tenaunt the value of an hole yere.
All maner licence of marriage of the Kyng’s widdows the third part of ther dower.
All manere of confirmaciones of offices the third part or the fourth part of the value therof by the yere.
All confirmaciones of libertees and Franchisees the third part or the fourth part of the profites or value of the same Franchisees.
All patents of devysing the thirde part of the value of his godes.
All pardons of the Kyng’s widowes maried without licence the value of her dower by þe yere.

Item, that the Clerc of the Kyng’s Hanapier leave for him a depute in the court of the Kyng’s Bench, another in the court of the Common Place, whych shall receve for the Kyng all the profites growing of the Kyng’s sele in eyther of the said Courts, and therupon shall yeld his accompte in the Kyng’s Ex..'

This glossary is by no means comprehensive. Readers may also wish to consult standard references books such as Joseph Byrne, Byrne’s dictionary of local Irish History from the earliest times to c.1900 (Cork, 2004); P. G. Osborn, Osborn’s concise law dictionary, ed. Sheila Bone (London, 2001).

Abbreviations

AN = Anglo-Norman

Ir. = Irish

Lat. = Latin

ME = Middle English

OED = Oxford English Dictionary

Term

Explanation

advowson

The right of patronage or presentation to a church benefice.

allocate, writ of

A writ authorizing allowance to be made by the officers of the Ex. of a specified amount: often this amount is to be off-set against the debts owed to the K. by the beneficiary.

alterage

A form of affinity proscribed in late medieval Ireland between the Irish and the English, whereby a man stood sponsor for a child at baptism; (also) gossipred.

assize

Technical term for legal proceedings or various kinds. See mort d’ancestor, novel disseisin.

avener [Lat. avarius]

provider of oats, esp. for the household of the K. or his chief governor

avoirdupois

Miscellaneous merchandise sold by weight.

bonnaght [Ir. buannacht]

The billeting of mercenaries or servants.

cask

See tun.

certiorari, writ of

Letters close issued by the K. to his officers commanding them to supply information to him concerning a specified matter, normally by searching the records.

chattels

Property, goods, money: as opposed to real property (land).

dicker [Lat. dacra]

A measure of 10 hides.

dower

Portion (one third) of a deceased husband’s estate which the law allows to his widow for her life.

escheat

The reversion of land to the lord of the fee to the crown on failure of heirs of the owner or on his outlawry.

extent

A survey and valuation of property, esp. one made by royal inquisition.

falding [Ir. fallaing]

A kind of coarse woollen cloth produced in Ireland; the mantle or cloak made from the same.

fee-farm

A fixed annual rent payable to the K. by chartered boroughs.

fotmel [Lat. fotmellum]

A measure of lead.

engrossment

Technical term: the action of writing out, for instance patent letters and charters; (also) the documents thus written out.

enrolment

Technical term: the action of recording in the records of the K., esp. the registering of a deed, memorandum, recognizance; (also) the specific item or record thus enrolled.

hanaper

A repository for the keeping of money. The ‘clerk of the hanaper in chancery’ was the chancery official responsible for the receipt of fines for the issue, engrossment and ensealing of writs, patents and charters issued by the chancery.

herberger [Lat. herbergerius, hospitator]

One sent on before to purvey lodgings for an army, a royal train (OED).

galangal [AN galyngale]

The aromatic rhizome of certain Asian plants of the genera Alpinia and Kaempferia, of the ginger family, used in cookery and herbal medicine; (also) any of these plants (OED).

generosus [Lat.]

Term designating social status: translated as ‘gentleman’.

king's widow [Lat. vidua regis]

The widow of a tenant in chief: so called because whe was not allowed to marry a second time without royal licence.

knights’ fees

Units of assessment of estates in land. Originally a single knight’s fee was the amount of land for which the military service of one knight (=knight service) was required by the crown. ‘Fee’ derives from the Latin feudum, which in other contexts translated as ‘fief’. In practice the descent of landed estates meant that many knights’ fees came to be subdivided and, in the later Middle Ages, personal service was frequently commuted to money payments (=scutage).

liberate, writ of

A chancery writ issued to the treasurer and chamberlains of the Ex. authorizing them to make payment of a specified amount, often the annual fees, wages and rewards of the K.’s officers.

linch [Lat. lincia]

A measure of tin.

livery

The delivery of seisin, or possession, of an estate hitherto held in the K.’s hand, for instance when a minor reaches the age of majority.

mainprize

Legal term: the action of undertaking to stand surety (=‘mainpernor’) for another person; the action of making oneself legally responsible for the fulfilment of a contract or undertaking by another person (OED).

mass [Lat. messa]

A standard measure of metal.

messuage

A portion of land occupied, or intended to be occupied, as the site for a dwelling house; (also) a dwelling house together with outbuildings and the adjacent land assigned to its use (OED).

mort d’ancestor, assize of [Lat. assisa mortis antecessoris]

A legal process to recover land of which the plaintiff’s ancestor (father, mother, uncle, aunt, brother sister, nephew or niece) died seised (=in possession), possession of which was since taken by another person.

nolumus, clause of [Lat. cum clausula nolumus]

A standard clause inserted especially in letters of protection by which pleas and suits are delayed for a specified period of time.

novel disseisin, assize of [Lat. assisa nove disseisine]

A legal process to recover land from which the plaintiff claims to have been dispossessed (=disseised).

pensa

See wey.

piece [L. pecia]

A standard quantity of merchandise.

pendent seal

Seal hanging from engrossed letters patent attached to a tongue or tag of parchment.

perpresture

An illegal encroachment upon royal property.

plica

A fold along the foot of engrossed letters patent and charters to create a double thickness of parchment, used for attaching the ‘great seal pendent’ to the letters. An incision was made in the plica and through which a tag of parchment was attached. A wax impression of a seal was then affixed to the tag.

protection

An act of grace by the K., granted by chancery letters, by which the recipient is to be free from suits at law for a specified term; granted especially to persons crossing overseas or otherwise out of reach of the courts in the K.’s service.

quare impedit, writ of

An action brought to recover the advowson of a benefice, brought by the patron against the bishop or other person hindering the presentation.

scutage

The commutation of personal military service to the crown for a money payment. Normally called ‘royal service’ in Ireland.

seisin

Formal legal possession of land.

sendal [Lat. cendallum; ME cendal]

A thin rich silken material (OED).

stallage [Lat. stallagium, estallagium]

Payment for a market stall.

tun [Lat. dolium]

A large cask or barrel, esp. of wine.

valettus

A term designating social status: translated ‘yeoman’.

Vidua Regis [Lat.]

See King's widow.

volumus, clause of [Lat. cum clausula volumus]

A standard clause inserted esp. in letters of protection by which pleas and suits are delayed for a specified period of time. In full the clause runs: volumus quod interim sit quietus de omnibus placitis et querelis (=we wish that meanwhile he be quit of all pleas and plaints).

waif

A piece of property which is found ownerless and which, if unclaimed within a fixed period after due notice given, falls to the lord.

waivery [AN weiverie]

The technical term for proceedings of outlawry in the case of women.

wey [Lat. pensa, peisa, pisa]

A standard of dry-goods weight.

worsted [ME wyrstede]

A woollen fabric or stuff made from well-twisted yarn spun of long-staple wool combed to lay the fibres parallel (OED).

writ [Lat. brevis]

Letters close containing commands by the K. to certain specified persons, esp. royal officers. Returnable writs, which were not normally enrolled in the chancery rolls, were to be returned by the officer to chancery with details of the actions taken by the officer in response to the contents. See also allocate, certiorari, liberate.